


Holiday with Family, Friends and Lovers, A

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s04e10 Arctic Radar, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-12
Updated: 2006-03-12
Packaged: 2019-05-15 20:07:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14797095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: "You and I have extremely stressful and crazy jobs.  Our boss is away for an unprecedented length of time.  The majority of the country is at home or on vacation.  I wanted us to try and be normal people for 48 hours."





	Holiday with Family, Friends and Lovers, A

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**A Holiday with Family, Friends and Lovers**

**by:** Gillian 

**Character(s):** CJ Cregg, Leo McGarry  
**Pairing(s):** Leo/CJ  
**Category(s):** Post-Episode/Romance  
**Rating:** ADULT  
**Summary:** "You and I have extremely stressful and crazy jobs. Our boss is away for an unprecedented length of time. The majority of the country is at home or on vacation. I wanted us to try and be normal people for 48 hours."  
**Spoiler:** 4-10 Arctic Radar  
**Written:** 2006-02-16  
**Author's Note:** Second in the series "Push." This would not have happened without constant encouragement and great beta reading from Montiese. Thanks so much for helping me say what I was trying to say. 

Three weeks and four covert dinners later, Leo and CJ enjoyed their developing friendship. He now possessed the knowledge that she loved chocolate chip cookie dough straight from the tube and old romantic movies; she hated snakes and heights. Leo actually had information that CJ's spin boys could use against her. He loved the access he now had into her life but didn't know if it was as a friend or something more. 

The most shocking thing CJ learned about Leo was he had an interest in the culinary arts. He blamed it on boredom during rehab at Sierra Tucson. He couldn't resist classical music or a well prepared steak. He avoided the opera since his divorce and disliked most modern fiction. 

Officially Leo continued to see Jordan, but their time together was limited and conversation nearly always political. He couldn't get her to shut up about the Navy pilot recently. He had shared eight dinners with Jordan in a little over six months and hadn't gotten past first base. That suited him just fine. Despite her physical beauty, there were no real connections. 

Tomorrow was Thanksgiving and about half the staff in the West Wing had found flights home. Sam was in Orange County for the next three months to campaign for the California 47th. The Bartlets were already in Manchester with the girls. Toby was killing himself and the new kid with the Inauguration speech, but he planned to take a few hours tomorrow to celebrate the holiday with Andi. Leo had sent Margaret home for the holidays and he was sitting in his office contemplating his next move. No one was left on the Hill, but Leo was waiting for a national or international crisis to arise. Thanksgiving was only an American invention. The rest of the world was still operating as usual. 

Two hours into reading briefing memos, he decided to check in with Josh and CJ. Walking down the hall, he took note of the empty bullpens. If both Josh and CJ were still in their offices, he decided he would order them to go home and enjoy the time off. He was their boss, and if he couldn't order them to have fun, who could? 

He arrived at Josh's door first. Josh was inside studying something on his computer. He looked up and nodded at his boss. "Hey, Leo." 

"Why are you still here? You have somewhere else to be, don't you?" Leo asked. 

Josh nodded. "Yeah, I, have a plane to catch in, uh," he looked at his watch, "a little over two hours. I'm visiting my mom for Thanksgiving 'cause I know I won't make it for Hanukkah." 

"You're a good son, Josh. Give your mother my regards." 

Josh blushed a little at the praise. "I will. The next time you're in Florida, I know she'd love to see you." 

"Me? You've got to be kidding. You might be in the private sector if not for me." 

"Well, you were a good friend to Dad and you've been there for me. She recognizes an ally when she sees one." 

Leo cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, have a good trip. Is CJ still here?" 

"Yeah, I was just on my way to say goodbye." Josh picked up his backpack and headed to the door. 

Leo followed him. "Is Toby still locked in his office working on the thing?" 

"Yeah, but I have his assurances that he will go see Andi tomorrow." Josh knocked on CJ's door; she looked up and smiled at both of them. 

"Hey there, boys. What can I do for you?" CJ asked. 

Josh smirked at the possibilities. "I don't know about him," he pointed at Leo. "But I came to wish you a happy Thanksgiving. I'm off to Florida." 

"Tell your mom hi for me. Have a safe flight and happy Thanksgiving. When do you get back?" 

"Ten pm Saturday. Why?" 

"I'm hoping to drag Toby away from the Inauguration long enough to do the thing on Sunday." CJ said. 

Josh's eyes lit up. "Ooh, yeah, count me in. Around noon?" 

CJ nodded. 

Josh grinned. "I'll bring a thirty pack. See you then." He turned to Leo. "Happy Thanksgiving, Leo, call me if you need anything." 

Leo shook his head. "Go, Josh." 

Josh walked out of the office. 

Leo walked all the way into CJ's office and sat in the chair across from her desk. "So what are your plans for tomorrow?" 

CJ leaned back in her chair. "Well, my brother Graham is actually in town for once, so I'm having dinner with his family." 

Leo looked at her quizzically. "In town?" 

"Yeah, he's in the Navy. Usually he's overseas during the holidays so his wife, Jill, takes Hogan to visit her parents in Colorado. Sometimes my other brother takes my dad to visit them all in Colorado, but it gets complicated quickly when you consider that Aidan lives in Napa and Dad lives in Dayton." CJ laughed. "But you didn't need to know all that, did you?" 

He smiled. "Need to know? Of course not. But it gives me some interesting insight." 

"How's that?" 

"Well, for one, you have a family member in the military. For another, your entire family is scattered across the country. The time that you all get together must be precious." 

CJ nodded. "I'm just thankful Graham's back in one piece again. What about you? Do you have any plans?" 

"Nah. Mal's going to be with her mother introducing her latest boyfriend." He sighed. "Honest to God, I think she's trying to punish me for being a bad father by dating every worthless punk in the DC metro area." 

CJ threw back her head and laughed. "Don't worry too much about it. It's just a phase." 

Leo was intrigued. "How do you know?" 

"She's what? Twenty-five?" 

"Twenty-six." 

"Oh yeah. When I was about that age I went through the requisite string of deadbeats. I'm telling you. It's a phase." 

Leo laughed. "I trust you. And I hope you're right." He shook his head. "I just can't imagine you and a deadbeat. You only deserve the best." 

"I appreciate the sentiment, but you and my father seem to be the only ones who hope for that." She paused momentarily. "Well, if you don't have any other plans, I'm sure Graham and Jill wouldn't mind pulling another chair up to the table." 

Leo was touched by her offer. No one except the President had ever invited him for a holiday dinner. Even then, Jed's idea of a holiday dinner usually ended up as a working weekend or the history of the damn turkey. But CJ had just invited him. She invited Leo McGarry, not the White House Chief of Staff. At least he thought she did. 

"No thank you, I don't want to intrude." He stood up. "I'll walk you to your car." 

"If you change your mind, please give me a call. I don't like the idea of you being alone on Thanksgiving. Hogan could give you a run for your money in crossword trivia. They would like you." 

Smiling, Leo put his hand on her lower back and led her out the door. As they walked the halls of the West Wing, they both tried to ignore the heat flowing through both their bodies at the point of contact. 

Leo cleared his throat. "About that thing with Josh and Toby..." 

"Do you really want to know?" she asked, cringing. 

He grinned. "Yeah, especially if it makes you cringe like that." 

"Well, let's see. Right now, are you my boss or my friend? Choose wisely, sir, for the response to your question depends on your answer." 

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Which do you want me to be?" 

Oh God, she thought, I want you to be... "I want you to make up your mind," she replied. 

He shifted his body closer to hers and whispered in her ear, "What if I wanted to be more than your friend?" 

She turned her face closer to his and said, "Well, then, you definitely get to hear the story." Smiling, she kissed him softly on the cheek. 

He stood completely still for a moment and then jumped back like he had been burned. "Get in the car," he growled and went around to the passenger side of the car. 

CJ stared blankly at him. "What?" 

"Open the door and get in." 

She unlocked the doors and they both got in the car. "Okay, I'm in the car. What do you want?" 

He reached over, took the keys out of her hand, and started the car. "It's more like what I don't want." 

She looked confused. Did he not want her to kiss him? "Look, Leo, if you want to forget..." 

He took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles and she stopped talking. "I refuse to have our first kiss be recorded by the parking garage security cameras. I have avoided Hard Copy thus far and I won't tempt fate." 

Realization dawned in her expression and she held his hand tighter. "Where are we going?" 

"My hotel is closer." He said. 

She nodded and put the car in drive. Pulling out of the parking space, she asked, "So you want to know about the thing on Sunday?" 

"Yeah." He had moved his hand to her exposed knee and was drawing little circles on her stockings. 

"Well, it's embarrassing," she tried to keep her mind on driving and telling the story was helping her focus on the road rather than his hand on her knee. "The Thanksgiving before we got into office, things were crazy. I'm sure you remember. I had just moved into my apartment and my furniture hadn't arrived from my place in Manchester. My house in the Hills had sold but the check hadn't cleared my bank account. I had no money, no furniture, and you and the President worked us straight through Thanksgiving and most of the weekend. The boys and I took a couple of hours the Sunday after Thanksgiving to get together and relax. I went to the store to see if there was any Thanksgiving food left. Turns out all I could get was canned cranberries and chocolate turkeys. We ended up with Chinese takeout." 

Leo chose this moment to interrupt. "And there is a point to this story?" 

CJ blushed. "Yeah. Toby, Josh, Sam and I try to get together every Sunday after Thanksgiving and blow off steam. One year Sam serenaded us with his version of Unchained Melody. Another year Toby reenacted a scene from Hamlet on a dare from Sam. One year we played strip poker, which was as awkward as it sounds with three straight men in the room. None of them seemed as embarrassed when I started taking my clothes off..." 

Leo shifted in the passenger seat, torn between trying not to imagine CJ playing strip poker and trying not to be jealous that three other guys were there and he wasn't. "You can turn into this garage." 

CJ did as he said and pulled into a parking space. "So, what now?" 

"Well, we could go upstairs and grab a bite or I could lean over and..." He lifted his hand from her knee and brushed his fingers across her cheek. She sighed as he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. She had, perhaps, the softest lips he'd ever touched. They broke apart and stared at each other. Leo continued to stroke the side of her face and then reached around and pulled her mouth down to his. CJ lifted her hand to his head and lightly tickled his earlobe. He groaned into her mouth and she smiled against his lips. Slowly, they slipped apart. 

CJ spoke first. "That was, well, that was..." 

"Amazing," he completed her thought. "If you're that good at kissing, you weren't lying about being good in bed." Realizing what he was implying, Leo blushed and looked down at her hand in his. 

"You betcha, mister," she laughed. "So do you still want to go upstairs and order food?" 

He kissed her again and grinned. "Yeah." 

They got out of her car and walked toward the entrance. Again his hand found the small of her back as he guided her through the door. "Would you prefer to eat in the dining room or order up?" He pushed the elevator button. 

"I think..." she paused and grabbed his hand. "I'd rather go upstairs. There is no privacy in the dining room." 

After they stepped onto the elevator, he touched her hips and turned her entire body toward his. He ran one finger up her arm and caressed her neck. "We wouldn't want anyone snooping on us." 

She smiled softly and leaned down just a little to kiss him. He untangled his fingers from hers and wrapped his arms around her waist. In turn, she lightly fingered the nape of his neck and he had to silence a moan. God, it had been too long since anyone had touched him like that...a lifetime. 

He used his tongue to part her lips. CJ melted under his exploration of her mouth. She had no idea that he would be so talented. Her body tingled as her brain thought of his tongue on the other parts of her body. 

CJ and Leo jumped apart as the elevator doors slid open. She flushed, trying to act nonchalant as they walked down the hall to his suite. He had been divorced for over three years and separated longer than that and he lived in a hotel. He was a workaholic and rarely spent time outside the office, but everyone needed a place to call home. 

"Leo, I don't mean to... Well, you know I've never been shy about..." she paused. 

"What's the matter, CJ?" He unlocked his door and held it open for her. 

"It's personal..." 

"CJ," he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "We've known each other for five years. We just shared a beautiful kiss and I sincerely hope we'll be repeating that particular exercise soon. I don't mind a personal question." He removed his tie. "Sit, get comfortable. You want a drink?" 

CJ sat on the sofa, slipping off her shoes. "Water is fine." 

He brought her a glass of water and sat down next to her. "Please ask your question?" 

She held up the glass, "Thanks." She turned to face him and put up one leg. "Why do you still wear your wedding band? You don't have to answer, I just figured if you and I are going to start something..." 

He took her hand. "It's okay. You're right; if we do this everything is up for grabs. I will always love Jenny. She gave me Mallory and put up with a drunken politician for more years than she should have. We married to be socially acceptable. I have never admitted this to anyone, but I was never in love with her. I doubt I ever have been." 

CJ's eyebrows shot up. "What? So why... I don't understand." 

"I hope what I am about to tell you does not make me sound worse than it should." He inhaled deeply. "I still wear my wedding ring because I'm the second most powerful man in the Western hemisphere and I have a portfolio that could feed a small country for ten to fifteen years. I'm a gold-digger's dream, CJ. If young women see a wedding band, they assume they won't have access to my accounts." He grinned. "Also, I like to fidget with it in the sit room." 

CJ nodded. "That makes sense. But you left out the part about you being very smart and sexy." 

Leo's face split into a huge grin. "You think I'm sexy?" 

It was her turn to grin. "Oh, yeah." 

"Dinner?" Leo asked. More than anything, he wanted to wrap his arms around her long, lean body. He wanted to kiss her from the top of her head to each and every one of her toes. He wanted to caress every inch of her skin. He touched her bare back once at a state dinner and it was an experience no words can express. He needed to feel his skin against hers, but his desires would wait. She was a lady and deserved to be treated as such. So, he would order dinner, attempt to keep his kisses chaste and his hands off of her. He wasn’t sure at all if his plan would work. 

"Yeah. What's good here?" 

"All of it, but I particularly enjoy the lobster ravioli in a fennel and chervil-infused nage." 

"I'll get a salad and eat some of yours." 

Leo stood, picking up the phone to place the order. He walked across the room and turned on the radio. "Will you dance with me?" He walked back to her and held out his hand. 

Without heels, she was only about five inches taller than him. The height difference allowed him perfect access to her neck. He sprinkled soft kisses up her neck to her jaw causing her to whimper. 

"Oh, Leo..." she sighed. "That feels so good." 

He halted his attention to the underside of her jaw. "Well, I guess that leaves some room for improvement." 

"No, it's perfect. I could frighten you and tell you how long it's been since a man has kissed me." 

His eyes twinkled when he looked up at her. "I happen to know that three years ago you were having routine make out sessions with Danny Concannon in the West Wing." 

CJ blushed. "Leo! I...oh hell. How do you know that?" 

Leo shrugged. "I know things. I've wanted you longer than I care to admit. I couldn't help needing to know what you were up to." 

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. 

"Claudia Jean, I want to make love to you so badly that it hurts in here," he pointed to his chest. "And if you consent..." his eyes pleaded for her answer. 

Unable to speak, she nodded. She truly had no idea he felt so strongly about her. 

"If you consent, I want to do it right. We'll wait and I'll take you away whenever you want. We'll make love slowly and spend the next day in bed. I'll take you shopping, to a spa or whatever you want. But tonight we'll eat dinner and I'll kiss you goodnight." 

She grinned at him. "Why, Leo McGarry, if anyone in Washington knew that you were such a romantic, your reputation would be ruined." 

"Can I trust you with my secret?" 

A knock on the door interrupted their moment. Leo stepped away from CJ and opened the door. He generously tipped the waiter, closed the door and put the food on the table. 

CJ smiled as he held out her chair. "Tell me anything." he said, sitting down across from her. 

"I want this, you have to know that. I do. But is it really a good idea for the Press Secretary to be dating the Chief of Staff?" 

"Two questions. One, do you feel sexually harassed? Two, do we really care what the hell the press says?" 

CJ suddenly felt nervous. "Leo, did you hit you head? Are you feeling alright? You just told me to screw the press." 

"Don't freak out," he replied, laughing. "I'm not telling you to hold a press conference on Monday. I honestly don't think anyone needs to know right away. I'm just saying that we take this slow and do it in our time, our way." 

CJ looked relieved. "Thank God you said it. I think we should take it one day at a time." 

"No." CJ whispered after eating for a while in silence. 

He stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth. "'No what?" 

"I don't feel sexually harassed. Quite the opposite, in fact." 

He grinned. "Good." 

By dessert, they agreed that they would tell their close friends about their relationship in three months and write a press release in six. Leo reasoned that they kept state secrets every day. It couldn't be that hard to keep a relationship a secret. Since they worked together, it would not be odd for them to spend time alone. 

After the meal they sat on the sofa and they talked for a few hours as they had for the past few weeks. Inconsequential subjects mostly. At work they processed such heavy information and Leo delighted in knowing the little things about CJ. She wanted to retire to a loft in Manhattan and build a weekend house on the coast of Maine. She loved to sleep in on rainy Sunday mornings and hadn't attended mass on her own since she was twenty four. Leo confessed that he only ever went to mass because the President was concerned about his mortal soul. Someday, he wanted to tour Europe in no official capacity other than 'American tourist.' He planned to buy a ranch in Wyoming with no television or telephone hookups. She laughed at that concept. It was difficult to imagine Leo McGarry without CNN or a telephone. 

At eleven, she stood and stretched. It was time to go home. "Any way I could change your mind about dinner tomorrow?" 

"What happened to keeping our relationship discreet?" 

"It's not about that. You are my friend and coworker and I didn't want you to spend Thanksgiving alone. Come on, it'll be fun. Like bringing the exchange student from college for the holidays." 

"All right, all right, if it means that much to you..." 

"It does." She reached for his hand. 

Leo shook his head. "Not good. I'm already showing my weaknesses. It seems that I can't say no to you." 

CJ laughed. "I'm not complaining. I'll call you in the morning to confirm plans." 

"Okay." His hand found her waist and their lips met. He snaked his fingers underneath her sweater and touched the silky skin of her lower back. She moaned into his mouth and he pulled away slightly to graze his tongue against her lips. "How can this be better than I imagined?" he whispered, recapturing her mouth. 

When they finally parted for air, she leaned her forehead against his. "I'll call you in the morning," she repeated and walked out the door. 

*********** 

The phone in Leo's suite rang at 8:02 the next morning. "Hello." 

"Can you swing by my place around two this afternoon?" 

"Good morning to you, too, Claudia Jean." 

She heard his smile over the phone. The mirth in his voice warmed her despite the distance between them. "I'm sorry," she paused. "Good morning, Leo. I hope you slept well." 

"Better than I have in a while, thank you. What about you?" 

"I couldn't stop thinking about the most magnificent kisses." Her face flushed at the admission and she was glad he couldn't see her over the phone. 

She heard his grin when he said, "So how about I come at one and we do that again before we go to the thing?" 

"Uh... yeah," was all she said before she hung up the phone. 

Leo sat back in his chair and picked up the paper with a grin on his face. Yeah, this was gonna be fun. 

********** 

At 1:15 pm on Thanksgiving Day, Leo arrived at CJ's apartment wearing tan dress pants, a light blue dress shirt underneath a hunter green sweater and a matching tan jacket. He pressed the buzzer and tapped his leg. 

She rung him up and when he got upstairs, the door was cracked. He pushed it open a little farther and poked his head in. "CJ?" 

Her answer came from somewhere in the back of the apartment. "Come on in." 

He stepped in and closed the door behind him. He looked around the living room in awe. The room seemed to be the quintessential expression of CJ. The beautiful hardwood floors were polished to perfection, a plush cream colored rug lay in the middle of the floor surrounded by a brown leather sofa and two overstuffed off-white club chairs. The walls were warm lavender and a vibrantly colored abstract painting hung over the mantle. A few pictures were placed strategically around the room. Mostly, he didn't recognize the people in the photos, but he assumed they were family. There were also a few of her 'other family,' the White House staffers. Her spin boys, Carol and some other assistants, the First Family, CJ and Leo at a state dinner, Bartlet for America staffers at headquarters in Manchester... He slowly backed up to the photo of the two of them at the state dinner. It was a candid shot. She looked gorgeous as usual, but he was somewhat appalled at the desire for her he saw reflected in the picture. The concept of his desire for her being so raw and exposed made him more than just a little uncomfortable. 

He cleared his throat and wondered where she had been this whole time while he was snooping around her living room. "Listen, CJ, you don't normally leave your door open like that do you?" 

CJ walked into the room and took his breath away. His eyes wandered her body from head to toe twice before he closed his mouth. She was wearing a knee length a-line khaki skirt, a plum v-neck sweater and a fitted black leather jacket. It was the calf-length leather boots that did him in. Leo thought he might die right there in her living room. 

"Leo?" she smirked, walking toward him with an extra sway of her hips. 

"Well, I must say I'm really glad I can do this now." He put his hands on her hips and pulled her gently to him. He tilted his head back a little and claimed her mouth. His tongue found hers and he ran his fingers through her hair. Her lips never left his as she pushed him toward the sofa. They parted when he sat down with a thud. She carefully climbed into his lap and reclaimed his lips. One of his hands slipped between her sweater and her jacket, rubbing her lower back in small circles. His other hand reached up to caress her cheek. 

After a few minutes, she pulled away. "We should cut this short. I really don't want to but..." 

He sighed and nodded. "I can't be too aroused when we get to your brother's house. Although with that outfit, I'm not exactly sure how you expect me to keep my hands off you." 

CJ laughed. "I'm glad you like it. You look very nice, too." 

He shrugged. "I didn't know the dress code. I have a tie in the car if you think I should..." 

"No, you're perfect just the way you are. I like the sweater. And I've always loved that suit." 

"Thanks. The sweater was a gift from Mallory for my birthday last year. I figured if she bought it, it was the closest thing I have to 'hip' for meeting your family for the first time." 

"Ladies and gentlemen, Leo McGarry just used the word 'hip' and not in reference to the body part." 

He scowled. "I know I'm old, but I'm not dead." 

She kissed him quickly. "For crying out loud, Leo, you're not old, you're 56." She moved toward the hall and back to what he assumed was her bedroom. "I'll grab my stuff and we'll head out." 

She returned a few minutes later. "And I only leave my door open for you. You ready?" 

He grinned. "Yeah." 

********** 

Leo's car arrived in front of Graham and Jill's house at quarter till three. CJ and Leo had some success at keeping their hands to themselves, although his hand had never left her bare knee. He would need to be careful about that during the dinner. 

After they stepped out of the car, Leo kept a friendly distance. When she knocked on the door to the Cregg home, he stood a few feet behind her. A blonde girl opened the door and nearly knocked CJ over with a hug. "Aunt CJ, I'm so glad you're here!" 

CJ squeezed the girl back and then held her out a little. "Me, too, sweetie. It's been too long with the election and everything." 

The girl rolled her eyes. "CJ, you don't need to remind me you have an important job. I see that enough on TV." 

"I'm sorry, Hogan, we'll go shopping tomorrow so I can make it up to you." CJ rubbed the girl's back in a maternal fashion. "Sweetie, do you remember Leo? He had no where else to be today." 

Leo held his hand out and Hogan accepted his handshake. "Nice to see you again." He looked at CJ and grumbled, "Thanks for the vote of confidence in my social life." 

Hogan interrupted any comeback CJ might have offered. "So, Leo, how's ruling the world working for you?" 

He smiled as CJ's eyes widened. 

"Let's go inside." She motioned to the door. 

Leo followed Hogan and CJ into the house. Apparently, Hogan was a very special part of CJ's life. He was astonished at how affectionate she acted with this young woman. At the same time, he somehow always knew that part of CJ existed. She would be a fantastic mother if she chose that path. 

The inside of the house was cozy and despite Leo's inclination to feel uncomfortable, he felt himself relaxing. He wanted to make a good impression with her family. He knew she was an independent, modern woman, but something told him that her family's approval was important to her. 

An attractive blonde woman in her mid-forties walked out of the kitchen. "Claudia Jean!" She threw her arms around CJ. 

"Jill!" CJ hugged her sister-in-law. "Happy Thanksgiving." 

Jill smiled. She noticed Leo standing behind CJ and walked over to introduce herself. "I'm Jill Cregg. Welcome to our home." 

Leo returned her smile. "Leo McGarry. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for your hospitality." 

"He rules the world. Oh, I mean works at the White House," Hogan added. 

CJ looked around. "Where's Graham?" 

"Upstairs," Jill answered. "He'll be down in a minute. Let's have a seat in the den." 

Jill linked arms with CJ and they walked off into another room. Hogan looked at Leo, shrugged and walked in that direction as well. Leo, baffled by the Cregg women, followed slowly. When he arrived at the den, he took a seat across from the couch where CJ and Hogan sat. Jill sat in the chair adjacent to his. 

"So, CJ, congratulations on the election," Jill said. "Hopefully now that it's over we'll get to see you a little more." 

CJ blushed a little and replied, "Actually, Leo had more to do with that..." 

Leo interrupted, "No, I didn't." He was more than a little surprised that other than Hogan, CJ's family didn't seem to know that he was White House Chief of Staff. On one hand, he was enjoying the anonymity. On the other, he wondered why CJ never mentioned him to them. 

CJ looked him squarely in the eye. "Yeah, you did." She looked back at Jill. "I'm sorry. I failed to mention that this is Leo McGarry, White House Chief of Staff, senior counselor to the President of the United States, and my boss." 

Now, Leo was just embarrassed. "CJ..." he said in a warning tone, as if they were at work. 

"I don't run the country. You do. I just spin it." 

Graham walked into the room. "You spin what, Claudia?" 

CJ hopped off the couch and into her brother's arms. "Graham!" 

"I think you've gotten taller there, little sis." 

CJ playfully slapped his arm. "Oh, shut up. Graham, this is a friend of mine." 

Leo sensed his cue, stood up, and introduced himself. "Leo McGarry." 

Graham shook his hand. "Graham Cregg. Nice to meet you." 

"He's the President's Chief of Staff, Daddy." 

CJ turned to Leo, "And apparently, Hogan is your front man." 

Leo chuckled. "Thanks for the free press, kid." 

Hogan just smiled innocently. 

********** 

Thanksgiving dinner at the Cregg's was a quiet affair. Leo politely asked Graham about his latest tour of duty. Graham enjoyed speaking with someone with higher code word clearance than his. The conversation about the military helped Leo stay focused on the dinner and not CJ's never-ending legs. After CJ and the other Cregg ladies had heard enough about fighter jets and carrier battle groups, CJ gently reminded Leo that they were sitting in the dining room, not the sit room. She shifted the conversation to Hogan's college choices. Hogan had, of course, applied to CJ's alma mater, UC Berkeley. She was also accepted at Georgetown, Brown, Northwestern and Wake Forest. 

Since CJ had promised to take Hogan shopping the following day, the remainder of the meal was spent planning which stores they planned to hit and in which order. Hogan was thrilled at the prospect of an entire day with CJ and CJ seemed equally excited about maintaining her 'cool aunt' status. 

After dinner, everyone retired to the living room for drinks and dessert. If anyone in CJ's family questioned Leo's request for a club soda, no one said. CJ and Leo sat on one sofa while Graham and Jill sat on the other. Hogan sat on the floor in front of CJ. 

Graham spoke first. "CJ, how's Toby? I read that his ex-wife is pregnant." 

CJ snorted. "Toby is, as usual, a pain in the ass. Now he just has an excuse. Fatherhood has made him even more paranoid than I thought possible." 

"He is worried he won't be able to tell the twins apart," Leo added. 

Graham laughed. "I can't imagine the man I met when I visited you at Berkeley is worried about keeping his twins straight." 

CJ smiled. "If it's any consolation, he's still driving me crazy about policy and the need for change in America." 

"Well, hopefully if Toby can get Andi to settle back down with him and he'll stop bugging you," Jill suggested. 

Graham laughed again. "Toby will never leave Claudia alone. He loves her too much." 

CJ looked down at Hogan and ran her fingers through her niece's hair. "I suppose there is an element of truth to that." She sighed. "I love Toby and I always will, but we do much better as friends." 

At this point in the conversation, Leo was a bit uncomfortable. He knew CJ and Toby had been friends for a long time, but he had never heard either of them use the word 'love.' 

Jill interrupted his train of thought. "Leo, where is your family today? And how did you end up with us on this occasion? Not that we're not thrilled to have you with us." She blushed, realizing those were rather personal questions. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that." 

"It's fine. You deserve an explanation as to why I crashed your party. My daughter is spending today with her mother. CJ found out that I was planning on spending Thanksgiving at my hotel and I think she felt like she'd be leaving a puppy at the pound if she didn't invite me." 

"That is true," CJ admitted. "Josh is in Florida; Sam is in California, Toby's with Andi. You were the only one without anywhere to go." 

Leo shot CJ a sideways glance. "Gee, don't I feel better." He looked back at Jill. "I don't normally sound this pathetic. I'm not really pathetic at all. I run the White House for Christ's sake. Holidays just aren't my thing." 

Hogan turned around and looked at Leo. "You live in a hotel?" 

Leo groaned and CJ laughed. "It's not as bad as it sounds, sweetie. It's a very expensive hotel." 

"Are there mints on the pillows?" Hogan asked. "Do you order room service?" 

Leo smiled, slightly put at ease with this line of questioning. He could answer this one. "Sometimes. I cook some, too. There's a little kitchen in the suite. But most of my meals come from the White House mess." 

CJ nodded. "The chefs in the mess make an excellent salmon and avocado terrine. In fact, everything they make is good. Especially the Belgian waffles with fruit for breakfast." 

"Ooh, you like those, too? I eat those for breakfast every Thursday morning," Leo said. 

"Yeah, they're my Tuesday special." 

Jill interrupted again. "You both eat breakfast at work?" 

CJ nodded. "Considering we're at the West Wing between 18 and 20 hours a day, we eat lots of meals there. The mess is only open from 6 am to 6 pm, though. Most evenings we order in, but there's a little place I like to go a couple of blocks away." 

"They start serving breakfast at 3 am," Leo interjected. 

"How could you want to do it all again? How can you continue a job that requires so much of you?" Jill asked. 

"It's kinda like the military," Leo said. "We're on an eight year tour of duty. Except we don't get more than four hours a night to sleep and we're not in the line of fire, usually." 

"I think Josh, the President and Simon Donovan would disagree..." Tears started welling in CJ's eyes. 

Leo looked at her, horrified at what he said. "CJ, I'm sorry." Keeping their present company in mind, Leo resisted caressing her face and touched her shoulder instead. "I didn't think." 

"Damn right, you didn't." CJ glanced at her brother and his wife. "Excuse me." She walked out of the room. 

Graham glared at Leo. "I like you, sir. From what I know of you, you're an honest good man. But if you hurt my baby sister all niceties go out the window. I don't care if you are the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States." With that, he stalked off to find CJ. 

Jill collected dessert plates and excused herself to the kitchen. Standing up from her seat on the floor, Hogan sat next to Leo on the couch. "What happened to Simon? CJ suddenly stopped talking about him and I didn't want to ask." 

Leo took a deep breath. "Simon Donovan was shot and killed on our trip to New York in May." 

Hogan's eyes teared up just as CJ's had. "Oh my God." The shock and sadness played across her face. "I've hardly seen Aunt CJ since our shopping trip in May. That must be why. Did he die protecting her?" 

Leo shook his head. "They caught the guy that was after CJ about an hour before Simon went down in a convenience store robbery." 

"He wasn't watching..." Hogan whispered. 

Leo was confused. "What?" 

"When CJ took me shopping, Simon taught me to watch people for suspicious activity." 

"You met Simon? Wait, of course you did." 

"Yeah, we shopped for my junior prom dress and had lunch. He was a great guy." Hogan sighed. "It must have been really hard on Aunt CJ. I wish I could have done something." 

"Me, too. You know, do something more than make her cry in front of her family." 

"You have time to make it up to her." 

********** 

Graham found CJ in the guest room upstairs. "Claudia?" 

"I'm fine. Sorry I left." She patted the bed next to her. "Have a seat." 

He sat next to her and put his arm around her. "What is it?" 

"Nothing, really. Leo usually thinks carefully before speaking. He certainly didn't mean to upset me. Simon is still a sensitive subject for me." 

"Simon?" Graham asked. 

"Gray, when you were in the Middle East last spring, I started getting death threats." 

"Death threats?!" he shouted. "Claudia, what the hell?" 

"It really wasn't a big deal. I work for the President of the United States. We piss people off. The Secret Service assigned a detail to me and they caught the guy. It was over a long time ago." 

"Simon was your agent, wasn't he? What happened to him?" 

"After he finished working my detail, he walked into the middle of a robbery at a Korean deli in New York. He was shot three times and was likely dead before he hit the floor." 

"Oh, Claudia, I'm so sorry." 

"It's the life I lead right now. Simon knew the dangers. You're an officer in the Navy. You understand that your job is inherently dangerous." 

"Yeah, but..." 

"I'm fine, Gray. My life is good. My job is busy, but so wonderful. Sometimes it's dangerous. Mostly, though, it's my dream job. I'm happy." 

"Are you happy with him?" Graham asked. 

"Who?" CJ was confused. 

"Leo McGarry." 

"Leo and I are not together. We're friends and colleagues. He's spent too many holidays alone. He shouldn't have to do that." 

"Oh, come on. I see how you look at him. He's nearly chewing off his own hand trying not to touch you. He has to be twenty years older than you. I'm telling dad." 

"First of all, Leo is 56 not 80. Second, I resent the implication that I have a thing for my boss. If you have a problem with him being here then we'll leave." 

"Whoa, Claudia, slow down. I'm glad you brought him. I like him. I just don't like the idea of you and him together. And since you've assured me that it's not an issue, we don't have a problem." Graham smiled and squeezed CJ's shoulder. "You're my little sister. If I don't try to protect you, I'm not doing my job." 

CJ's lips turned up into a smile. "I'm 38 years old, Gray. I think I have that protection thing under control." 

Graham kissed her forehead. "I know. But you can't blame a guy for trying." 

They both looked up when they heard a knock on the door. "Come in," CJ beckoned. 

Leo stuck his head in the door. "Hey. Hogan said I might find you up here." 

CJ smiled. "Come and sit with me, Leo." 

Graham got up and quietly excused himself. He shut the door behind him. 

Leo stood before CJ in silent penance. 

CJ patted the bed beside her. "Come on, Leo, sit. I won't bite." 

Leo smirked slightly. "Awww... and I was so hoping..." He sat next to her and took her hand in his. "CJ, I am sorry for speaking so carelessly. It just came out and I couldn't take it back." 

CJ shook her head slightly. "No, I shouldn't have freaked out like I did. Especially in front of my family." 

"They're your family. If you can't freak out in front of them, who can you do it with? Besides, I talked to Hogan and she understands. You've been through a rough time." He rubbed her back gently. 

CJ leaned into him and he embraced her fully. "Graham is worried that I'm developing romantic feelings for my boss." 

She felt the rumble of his laughter in his chest. "He threatened me within an inch of my life if I ever hurt you. I can imagine how thrilled he'll be when we announce our engagement." 

She withdrew from his arms quickly and her absence was physically painful for him. "Our engagement?!" she choked out. 

He pulled her back into his arms, laughing. "Calm down, CJ. I'm not asking you now. I'm just saying that I'm not here with you because word on the Hill is that you're good in bed." 

This time she laughed out loud. "That's certainly reassuring." She turned in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist. "So my big brother threatened you? I can now add you to the list of every guy I've ever dated." 

Leo nodded. "If he wasn't ten years younger and eight inches taller, I think I could take him. However, circumstances being what they are, I need to keep you happy so he stays happy with me." 

"Well, you're lucky, then," she kissed him lightly on the forehead. "Because you make me very happy Leo McGarry." She kissed his right cheek. "I flatly denied any involvement between the two of us." She kissed his left cheek. "So I think you're off the hook for a little while." 

He captured her lips with his, moaning softly as she tugged on his bottom lip. He pulled her onto his lap and ran his fingers up and down her spine. She put her hands on his chest and pushed lightly. "If I'm not back downstairs in five minutes, they will send a rescue team." 

He sighed. "Making out in your brother's house would not look good." They stood up and walked to the door hand in hand. 

"Do you need a minute?" she asked laughing. "There's a bathroom down the hall on the right." 

He glanced up at her sheepishly. "Yeah. I'll be down in a few." 

She nodded, opened the door and walked down the stairs. If she hadn't disappeared from his sight when she did, he was going to need more than a few minutes in the bathroom. He locked the door behind him and willed himself to think about anything but her body pressed into his lap and the silky smooth skin of her bare legs between the boots and that short skirt. He grew even harder at the thought of her legs and the feel of her soft lips against his. He hadn't planned on making out with CJ in her brother's guest room. He simply couldn't keep his hands off her when they were alone. Luckily, he hadn't embarrassed himself in front of her family, yet. That was gonna change real quick if he didn't settle down. He tried to think about nuclear defense or his last trip to the situation room... That thought led to CJ on the table in the sit room. Oh, God. He was going to be here a while. 

********** 

Downstairs, CJ took a moment to collect herself before looking for Hogan. The feel of Leo's hands on her was not something easily forgotten. She couldn't wait to feel his touch again. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she walked off to find her niece. 

CJ found Hogan in the den, looking at her junior prom pictures. "Hey honey." She sat down next to Hogan and put her arm around the girl's shoulders. 

"Hey, Aunt CJ." 

"So Leo told you about Simon?" 

Hogan nodded and looked up at CJ with tears in her eyes. "Why him?" 

"I don't know. His time came too soon." 

"The day we got my dress... He was so nice. I don't know what I expected from a Secret Service agent but he wasn't it. There was a gleam in his eye when you tried on the black Vera Wang. He liked you, CJ." 

"I liked him, too. And I wore that dress the night he died. I gave it away the next day." 

Hogan hugged CJ and they sat like that for a while. "I'm so sorry, CJ." 

"Me too, kid. Me too." 

Jill entered the room. "What's going on?" 

CJ looked at Hogan. 

"Mom, you remember when Aunt CJ took me shopping for my prom dress?" 

Jill nodded and sat down, sensing that this was a serious conversation. 

"And remember I told you that she brought an agent?" 

Jill nodded again. 

Hogan took a deep breath. "Simon was shot and killed a week later." 

Jill gasped. "Oh my God. CJ, I don't know what to say." 

CJ shrugged. "There's nothing to say. Really, Jill, I'm fine. Leo's comment about the 'line of fire' just upset me a little." 

"That's understandable," Jill assured CJ. "I'm so sorry." 

CJ smiled a little. "Thanks. You know, these kind of things are something I never thought I would have to get used to." 

"Graham's in the living room watching football. Where's Leo?" 

"I left him upstairs. He probably found Graham and football." She pulled Hogan up off the couch. "Let's go find them." 

The Cregg ladies found the men glued to the TV. CJ walked up behind Leo put her hands on his shoulders. "Time for us to go." 

Leo nodded. "I think Graham and I have spent enough time, as the President would say, doing as men do." 

Graham, Jill and Hogan looked quizzically at CJ when she started giggling. When she saw their faces, she cackled even harder. Leo just grinned. 

"You'd have to know the President to think that was funny," CJ explained. 

Graham sighed. "Okay, well, you don't have to run off so soon." 

"No, we should go. I have to get up early so Hogan and I can hit the good sales." 

Hogan beamed. "I'll be at your apartment at six." 

"Six in the morning?" Leo exclaimed. "You shop at six in the morning?" 

CJ smiled. "On the day after Thanksgiving, we do." 

He put his hands up in surrender. "Okay." He turned to Graham and held out his hand. "Graham, good to meet you." 

Graham shook his hand and nodded. "You too, Leo." He turned to CJ and wrapped her in a bear hug. "I just want you to be happy," he whispered. 

"I know. I am." She let Graham go and turned to Jill to say goodbye. 

Leo shook Hogan's hand. "If you visit Northwestern, give me a call and I'll recommend a couple of dives that have really good jazz." 

Hogan beamed. "I will. Thanks." 

CJ told Hogan that she'd see her in the morning. Leo thanked Jill again and they were out the door. 

Leo opened the car door for CJ. Hardly pulled away from the curb, CJ leaned over and kissed Leo's mouth. 

He grinned against her lips. "Did you miss me?" 

"You were upstairs a long time. I couldn't decide if it was easier to be in the room with you and unable to touch you or to not be with you and wonder what you were doing. Either way, I'll have to figure it out by Monday or we'll have a problem in senior staff." 

"I was upstairs trying to control the hard on I had from kissing you. And I don't have a solution for senior staff other than kicking everyone out and taking you on top of my desk." 

"I think that's a perfect solution." She ran her hands up his chest and unbuttoned the second and third buttons on his shirt. She kissed his neck and ran her tongue across his collarbone. 

Leo moaned as she drew little circles on the hollow between the two bones with her tongue. He shrugged out of his suit coat and threw it to the floor of the car. She tugged his sweater over his head and continued to unbutton his shirt. 

"I'm not having sex with you in the car," he stated. Well, he hoped he didn't lose that much control. Oh God, he was so close to losing control. 

"What makes you think I want to have sex?" CJ replied with a smile. 

Her fingers brushed the bulge in his pants and he groaned. "If we're not having sex, you might want to slow that down or I'm gonna have to have my pants dry cleaned." 

She unzipped his pants. "I don't think that will be a problem Leo." 

"CJ..." he whispered and gasped as his hard cock was enveloped by her warm, wet mouth. Her tongue wound circles up and down him and she gently nipped his tip before taking him fully in her mouth again. He was undone, grabbing the bar as he shut his eyes and groaned. "CJ... oh dear Lord..." he tried to warn her but she just increased the suction slightly and swallowed him whole. She licked him clean and zipped his pants. 

As his breathing evened out, he gathered enough brain cells to speak. "I have never..." 

CJ laughed. "I don’t mean to brag, but I do give an excellent blowjob." 

"No, CJ, you don't understand. I've never... Jenny never did..." He blushed in the darkness. "That was amazing. That was the best thing I've ever experienced." 

"I don't know what to say. You have a 26 year old daughter and I just took your blow job virginity." 

He laughed and pulled her to him. She snuggled in his embrace until the car pulled up at her apartment. He walked her to her door and kissed her softly. "I feel like you got the short end of the stick tonight. I want to make it up to you." He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. 

"Leo, if you're going to pay me for my services, I might decide to quit my day job." 

"I'm taking you away tomorrow when you finish shopping with Hogan. Buy some new clothes on me." He handed her his gold card. "It's got a $50,000 credit limit." He saw her reluctance. "Get an evening gown, at least. Please. I don't care about the money. I just want you to have something nice." 

She reluctantly agreed. "Only if you let me buy some stuff for you, too." 

He nodded. "I'll call you around lunchtime with plans." 

She kissed him again and disappeared inside her door. 

********** 

Five am came early for CJ. She spent most of the night thinking about Leo and what he could possibly be dreaming up. He was crazy to think there would be a hotel room available anywhere the day after Thanksgiving. He was sweet to give her his credit card. If any other man had done it, she would have felt like a cheap prostitute. But knowing Leo as she did, she was confident that it was just his way of letting her know the feelings he couldn't yet voice. 

She buzzed Hogan up at 5:55 and threw a bagel for each of them into the toaster. Pouring coffee into two travel mugs with the White House seal and grabbing the bagels, they were in CJ's car at 6:02. She looked at Hogan. "Where to?" 

"The mall in Arlington. I've had my eye on a sweater at Banana Republic and I hope it's on sale." 

"The mall in Arlington, it is, then." 

They arrived half an hour later and the parking lot was already swamped. "I'm not used to waiting in line anymore," CJ whined, looking for a parking space. "This blows." 

"Yeah, four years of riding in motorcades will do that to you," Hogan stated sarcastically. "'I noticed Mr. McGarry had a driver when you left last night." 

CJ laughed. "He probably hasn't driven a car since he was Secretary of Labor." Amused, she noted to herself that Hogan had shown great restraint. They had been together almost 45 minutes before she brought up Leo. 

"So is he rich? Is that why he has a car or does he have one because he's Chief of Staff?" 

CJ thought about this. Leo had a driver as long as she knew him. "A little of both, I think. They like to be able to get him wherever he is and if there is something going on, they can get him in the car and take him wherever he needs to be." 

"Like an attack?" 

"Well, that and some other things." CJ glanced over at Hogan and grinned. "But he's rich, too." 

********** 

Three hours later, CJ and Hogan had enough shopping bags that they had to take them to the car. "You up for a little more?" CJ asked. 

"What else could you possibly want?" Hogan replied incredulously. 

CJ smiled. "Just a few things. First stop, J. Crew." 

"Okay..." Hogan said cautiously. 

They walked back inside the mall and in the direction of the J. Crew store. "What are you looking for?" Hogan asked. 

With a wicked gleam in her eye, CJ pulled a credit card out of her purse. "Leo gave me his gold card to buy a few things." 

"His gold card?! CJ, what is going on with you two?" 

"Can you keep a secret, kid?" 

"About the White House Chief of Staff and my aunt, the Press Secretary?" She lowered her voice. 

"Yeah." 

"Okay." 

"I'm about to tell you something the President of the United States doesn't know. But you're my favorite niece and shopping buddy..." 

Hogan rolled her eyes. "I'm your only niece. And if you tell me you're involved with Leo McGarry..." 

"If I tell you that, what?" CJ eyed her niece suspiciously. 

"I won't be surprised at all," Hogan answered triumphantly. "Come on, CJ. I saw the way he looked at you last night. Even more important, the look was returned." 

CJ blushed as they stopped in front of J. Crew. "Well, I swear no one else knows and I denied it to your father, so let's just keep this between you and me. Deal?" 

"I pinky swear. And I haven't done that since I was five, so don't let it get around." 

CJ laughed and put her arm around Hogan. "I won't. Now come on. Let's see what they have." 

Hogan nodded. "What do you want to get for him?" She picked up a brown sweater and showed it to CJ. 

CJ nodded. "I like that. Also, some jeans. I don't think the man owns anything but hand tailored Armani suits." 

"Armani? He must be rich." Hogan walked over to a table full of t-shirts. "He'll need a few of these if we're totally revamping his wardrobe." 

********** 

Thirty minutes and $600 on Leo's gold card later, CJ walked out of J. Crew holding two bags. Hogan followed her with another two. In the end, the purchased two pairs of jeans, a pair of khakis, two polo shirts, three t-shirts, a sweater and a sweatshirt. 

Hogan was enjoying spending someone else's money, even if it wasn't on herself. "What's next?" 

"Evening wear at Nordstrom." 

"CJ, where is he taking you?" 

"He's being secretive. I've been instructed to get an evening gown. He'll call around lunch... Speaking of which, where do you want to eat?" 

"Is it on Leo?" Hogan asked. 

"No, silly. It's on me. I'm only buying stuff for him and the gown, which he told me to do." 

"And really, that's for him, too." Hogan wiggled her eyebrows. 

"Hogan!" 

"I'm just saying... You look good and he enjoys it more than you do." 

"How about we dig into your love life for a little while. It better be more interesting than mine." 

Hogan blushed. "There's a guy in my AP bio class..." 

"Yeah?" 

"His name's Sawyer. He's 6'2" with brown hair and eyes..." 

"Is he dreamy?" 

"CJ!" 

"Does he make you lose your train of thought?" 

"When he kisses me, yeah." 

"Have you...?" 

Hogan silently averted her eyes. 

CJ steered her over to a bench and sat down. "Did you use protection?" 

"CJ..." 

"Were you safe?" 

"Yes, of course. We used a condom." 

CJ let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Good. Are you on the pill?" 

"No. Oh my God, my parents would kill me if they thought I was having sex." 

"Your secret's safe with me. But if you decide you want to go on the pill, I'll take you to the doctor." 

"You would do that? Thanks CJ. I'm going to get you a great Christmas present this year, I promise. Though I'm sure I can't top the gold card." 

"I know, sweetie." She laughed. "So where do you want to go for lunch?" 

Hogan stood with her bags and looked back at CJ. "After we find you a revealing gown that is sure to cause a meltdown?" 

"Oh yeah." 

"Au Bon Pain." 

********** 

At quarter till twelve, CJ and Hogan sat down with their lunch, the four J. Crew bags, a dress bag from Nordstrom and the tell tale pink stripped bag. Hogan had persuaded CJ that she also needed something new to go under the gown, so they made a quick stop in Victoria's Secret. Each of them had ordered soup and salad and they decided to split a sandwich. Spending a grand total of $1100 on Leo's dime was hungry work. 

"So, kid, if I can talk the President into taking on another passenger when we go to California to campaign for Sam, would you like to come?" 

"Are you asking me if I'd like to fly across the country on Air Force One?" 

"Yeah. I figured we could take a few days after the stop and your Uncle Aidan could drive down and the three of us could visit Berkeley." 

"Oh my God, CJ, that would be so awesome!" 

"Okay. I'll see what I can do and get back to you. Do you have days you can take off from school? It'll be some time in early February." 

"Yeah, yeah, it'll be fine." 

CJ smiled at her niece's enthusiasm. Her cell interrupted their conversation. "Hello." 

"Hey." She could hear the smile in Leo's voice. "You two having a productive shopping trip? Am I going to be in the poor house tomorrow?" 

"No, but just for that, I should go back and buy ten pairs of Jimmy Choo's." 

"Jimmy what?" 

"They're shoes, Leo. Five hundred a pop." 

"In that case, go right ahead. Buy Hogan a pair, too." 

"Very funny." 

"I'm being serious. Did you buy anything for Hogan?" 

"No, Leo. I bought a gown like you asked and some stuff for you." 

"Honestly, CJ, I don't need anything. Go back and get a few things for yourself and for Hogan. If you haven't spent more money in an hour I will be very unhappy." He said sternly. 

"Are you trying to buy Hogan's love, Leo? 'Cause I gotta tell you, she likes you already." 

"Maybe. But a bribe never hurt anything." 

CJ laughed. "Yes, sir. Spoken like a true politician. You really don't have to do this." 

"Oh, I found a place for us tonight. Of course, we'll use precautions and hopefully the staff will be discreet. I'll pick you up at your place at four. Pack enough stuff to last through Sunday." 

"Leo, I've got..." 

"The spin boys at noon on Sunday. I know. You'll be back in plenty of time." 

"You're the best, boss." She lowered her voice and turned away from Hogan. "This is going to be the best weekend of your life Mr. McGarry." 

"Oh I know. And please don't call me 'boss' or 'sir.' Hogan will think I'm harassing you." 

"Nothing could be further from the truth. I'll see you at four." 

"Yeah. And don't forget to use the card. I get frequent flyer miles." 

CJ laughed at that. "I won't." She disconnected the call. 

Hogan looked at her expectantly. "Well?" 

"I have to go home and pack a bag for a day and two nights." 

Hogan squealed in delight. 

"But first, I'm taking you to The Gap and Leo's gonna buy you some new clothes." 

If Hogan was delighted before, she was simply in shock now. 

CJ observed her niece's face and smiled. "I'm important to him and you're important to me, therefore you're important to him. Make sense?" 

"It does. I already like him; he doesn't have to buy my affections, CJ. He can buy me jeans and a sweater, though." 

********** 

They got back to CJ's apartment at 2:30. Hogan took some of the clothes CJ bought to the basement to put them in the washer while CJ took a shower. At the Gap, they each got a pair of jeans and a sweater. CJ also got a pair of brown cords and Hogan chose a hat and scarf set. When Hogan came back upstairs from putting the clothes in the dryer, CJ was in her underwear packing a carry on. 

"Do you think the green sweater or the blue turtleneck?" She rolled her eyes packing both, not waiting for Hogan's answer. 

Hogan took a chance and answered anyway. "The green sweater. It shows more of your chest. Not that you'll probably even get a chance to put it on..." 

"Hogan!" 

"Well, I figure if you're trying to stay low key so no one finds out, you'll probably never leave the hotel room. You'll order in and sleep when you're not otherwise engaged." Hogan started out the door before CJ could object. "The laundry is in the dryer. I had a great time today. Tell Leo I said thanks. Call me when you get back. I love you." 

"I love you, too, sweetheart. I'll call you Monday." 

********** 

Leo stood in front of CJ's door at five till four. The nervousness he felt yesterday was gone and in its place, anticipation floated between his stomach and his groin. 

She opened the door wearing a green sweater, brown corduroy pants and bare feet. He had never seen her bare feet before and it made him think about all the other parts he had never seen without clothing. 

"Hey. Sorry I'm not ready yet. Hogan just left." 

"It's okay. We have time before we need to be at the airport." 

"The airport? Where are we going?" 

"New York," he said simply. 

"Okay," she said slowly. "Do you have a minute to sit down?" 

"Uh oh... What did I do?" 

"Nothing," she said smiling. "It's actually something I did." 

"Okay." 

"I know that this whole relationship is new. And I know better than to try to change you. In fact, I don't want to change you. If I did, we probably wouldn't be sitting here right now..." 

"CJ, did you know you have a tendency to ramble when you're nervous?" 

"I bought some stuff for you at the mall today." She swatted his arm. 

"I know." 

"Yeah. I thought if we planned on keeping the trip low key, you might not want to wear that." She pointed at his navy suit. 

"And you propose what instead?" 

"This." CJ held out a pair of jeans and a sweater. "I saw them at J. Crew and thought you'd look good in them." 

"We haven't even been out on a date and the woman's trying to dress me," Leo grumbled. 

"Leo, that's not what I meant..." 

Leo grinned and CJ relaxed. "I know. And you're right. The press will have less chance of recognizing me in casual clothes. I haven't worn a pair of jeans since 1975." Leo stood and took the clothes from CJ. "Where do I change?" 

She pointed to the bathroom down the hall and sat back down on the couch. She was impressed by how easily he accepted her suggestion. Then again, the man was trying to get her into bed, so she doubted there was very much he wouldn't do for her right now. 

He walked back down the hall wearing the jeans and sweater with sock feet. Damn, she thought, I do know how to pick 'em. "Very nice. You can dress down." 

The look of approval on her face made him smile. "Anything for you, baby." 

She grinned. "What?" 

"Anything for you," he repeated. 

"No, what did you call me?" 

His voice dropped an octave. "Baby." 

"Come over here and say that," she beckoned. 

He swaggered over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "What do you want, baby?" he whispered in her ear. 

She captured his lips with hers and kissed him hungrily. He responded with equal fervor until they both pulled away, panting. 

When Leo recovered enough to form coherent thought, he said, "I'll have to remember not to use that particular term of endearment in the office if that is the result." 

She smirked at him. "Yeah, that's probably best." 

"Are you ready?" 

She nodded. "Let's go." 

********** 

On the plane, they discussed work and how the Administration would change during the second term. If anyone on the flight recognized them, they simply appeared to be two colleagues chatting about business. 

They landed on time at La Guardia and a car waited at the airport. While the driver put their bags in the trunk, Leo held the car door open for CJ. 

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" 

"New York." 

"We're in New York already." 

"Technically, we're just at the airport." 

"If you're gonna be a wise ass, I'll stop asking." 

He laughed, putting his finger under her chin. Gently lifting her head to face his, he said, "The Mandarin Oriental at the southwest corner of Central Park." 

"Wow, oh Leo, that's...I'm speechless." 

"I made the reservation under O'Brien." 

"Mallory's name?" 

"It's my mother's maiden name. Jenny hyphenated her name when we got married but she didn't want our daughter to be named Mallory Anne Miller-McGarry. So we named her Mallory Anne O'Brien. With the red hair, her name's sufficiently Irish." 

"That is something I always wondered but never knew how to ask." 

"I will tell you anything you want to know. But you know about the drinking and the pills, my failed marriage, my general crankiness, and my daughter's name. What's left?" 

"I'll think of something. You are not cranky by the way. You're Leo, and I like you just the way you are." 

"Okay." The smile on his face was never going to go away. 

********** 

At the Mandarin Oriental, Leo checked them in as Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien and paid $2,000 in cash for the room. He assured the desk clerk that he had more cash if anything was added to their tab. 

They rode the elevator to the 42nd floor. Their room was at end of the hall. 

CJ gasped when Leo opened the door. The sun was setting over Central Park through the floor to ceiling windows on two of the walls in the hotel room. After tearing her eyes away from the magnificent view, she took note of the room. The opulent Asian-inspired furnishings were offset by contemporary linens and curtains. The entire room was cream colored, the walls, the sheets, and the chaise, with splashes of red in the bed frame, the armoire and the cherry wood floor. "Leo, this is stunning. It is a long way from the Holiday Inns on the campaign." 

Leo laughed. "You deserve something special. Like I said, I'm gonna do this right. I'm sure in the future there will be plenty of opportunities for me to screw up. Today, this weekend, I'm gonna do it right." 

She launched herself into his arms. "No one has ever done anything like this for me before." She kissed his lips. 

"I aim to please. You should change into that gown now. I have a special dinner coming up." 

She smiled and walked into the bathroom with her luggage. 

********** 

Half an hour later, she exited the bathroom and Leo forgot how to breathe. She was wearing the most stunning piece of material he had ever seen on a human being. The strapless black and white gown hugged CJ's curves in all the right places. 

CJ regarded him with equal fervor. The man made a tuxedo his second skin and she recalled a fantasy she had during an unusually boring state dinner involving his tuxedo. She cleared her throat. "Remember the state dinner where the King of Belgium's aide gave a forty-five minute dissertation on the significance of chocolate imports?" 

He laughed, unable to tear his eyes away from the top of her breasts, which were visible over the top of her dress. "What made you think of that?" 

"I think your tie was too tight or something, because you tugged at you collar all night. I couldn't stop thinking about how I'd like to take it off for you." 

Leo raised an eyebrow. "You were fantasizing about me during a state dinner?" 

Silently, she looked away. 

"I thought it would be best if we didn't make an appearance at an upscale restaurant in New York City on a Friday night. But I wanted it to be memorable, thus the dress code. We can pretend this is an evening on the town." 

She smiled. "It's perfect. What's for dinner?" 

********** 

After the meal, Leo turned on some music and sat next to CJ on the chaise. He wanted her more than he could ever remember wanting anyone. But he had almost twenty years on her and he hadn't made love to a woman in over four years. What if he couldn't please her? So much was riding on the outcome of the next hour... 

Sensing his hesitation, CJ put her hand on the side of his face and kissed him passionately. All his insecurities flew from his mind and focused on the feel of her lips on his. His confidence grew along with his cock when their tongues clashed, invading the welcome warmth and foreshadowing things to come. 

Leo placed his hand on her arm and ran two fingers up to her shoulder. She nibbled his earlobe and he loosened his bow tie. CJ pushed his coat off his shoulders and he stopped her as she tried to unbutton his shirt. 

She looked at him and Leo kissed her nose. 

"Wait," he whispered. "There's something I can't wait to do any longer." 

He moved down to her neck and nipped at the top of her breasts that he had been lusting over earlier. A strangled sound passed her lips and she resumed unbuttoning his shirt. She tugged his shirttails from his pants and stood, pulling him with her toward the bed. Leo reached behind her and unzipped her dress. It formed a black and white pool of material at her feet. 

She watched his cock twitch at the sight of her bare breasts. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on," he breathed. "May I make love to you?" 

"Please do." She grinned, pushing his suspenders off his shoulders and unzipped his pants. They joined her dress on the floor and they stood looking at each other hungrily. Both naked except her panties and her boxers, he wrapped his arms around her and melded his body against hers. 

CJ squealed in surprise when he easily lifted her into his arms, easily supporting her long legs. That was unexpected. And quite a turn on. She had no idea he could do that. He laid her gently on the bed, peeling her panties from her body. 

"I'm keeping these as a souvenir," he said, reaching down to tuck them into the pocket of his pants. 

"A keepsake from the conquest?" she asked, raising a single eyebrow. Mirth shined in her eyes. 

He leaned down, caressing her face with his hand. 

"You know you're much more than that, Claudia Jean." 

Unable to voice her hopes about where they were headed, she simply kissed him firmly in response. 

Leo's lips never left hers as he positioned his body over hers, fitting perfectly between her legs. He had been with quite a few women in his time, but none ever accommodated his body like CJ's did. It was as if they were meant to be lovers. 

Leo took his time exploring her body. While the lower part of his anatomy urged him to move faster, his brain remained in enough control to want to make this special for her. Hell, he wanted it to be special for him, too. 

Moving down from her lips, he scoured her body for any secrets it would divulge to him. Every so often, CJ rewarded him with a soft sigh or an impatient growl. Intellectually, he knew all sex noises were fundamentally the same, but her oral responses astonished him anyway. 

When her sighs turned to moans, Leo could no longer postpone the inevitable. Slowly sinking into her warmth, he moaned. 

"Oh my God," she gasped. 

"What's wrong?" He started to pull out. "Did I hurt you?" 

"Don't you dare move," she ordered, grasping his hips to keep him in place. "Just give me a minute. It's been a while." 

He nodded. The less he moved, the longer it would last. And his pride wanted him to keep her screaming for hours. 

"Now, Leo." 

"Yes, ma'am." He chuckled at her commanding nature. Thrusting steadily and smoothly, he brought her to climax twice before succumbing to her overwhelming tightness around his cock. 

Leo fell back on the bed to catch his breath. "You are amazing." 

CJ curled her body around his and closed her eyes. "You're not so bad yourself, Mr. McGarry." 

********** 

Saturday morning came much too early for CJ. She felt extremely safe and comfortable in Leo's embrace and didn't want to open her eyes. 

He detected the change in her breathing indicating that she was awake and he kissed her eyelids softly. "Morning." He kissed her nose. "Whatcha wanna do today?" 

"How long have you been awake?" she groaned. 

"About an hour. Why?" 

"You've been watching me sleep for an hour?" 

He grinned and kissed her lips. "Yeah." 

"Why?" 

"Because you're incredibly sexy and amazing to look at." 

CJ blushed. Leo enjoyed seeing the blush spread across the exposed skin on her chest. She was sexy, even if she didn't know it. And he wanted to spend the rest of his life trying to convince her she was the most beautiful woman to walk the planet. It was early, he knew, to be thinking so seriously about their long term plans. But he knew the first time he kissed her that this was it for him. 

"What are my options?" 

He kissed her bare shoulder. "Huh?" 

"For today." She pushed up on her elbows and looked at him. "What are my options?" 

"Oh," he said, contemplating her question. "There's a spa downstairs, so you could get a massage or a facial or whatever. Or we could go shopping. Prada, Dolce & Gabana, Armani, Donna Karan, and Versace are over on Madison Avenue. We could walk through Central Park on the way over there. Or I could try to get tickets to a show tonight. Oh, they're lighting the tree at Rockefeller Center..." 

She cut him off by pressing her lips on his. "Leo, why don't we order some breakfast and then think about the rest of the day." 

"Okay." He grinned and ducked his head underneath the covers. He kissed and nipped his way down her neck to her chest and she flopped back down on the bed. She gasped as he took one of her nipples into his mouth and sucked gently. When he turned his attention to her other breast, she squirmed under his touch. 

"Leo..." she breathed. 

He ceased his ministrations and looked up at her. "Yeah?" 

"Don't stop," she pleaded. 

He nuzzled her chest with his nose and moved down to her torso. His tongue made little circles around her navel and he flicked a finger over her clit. She gasped when his tongue replaced his finger and moaned at the prolonged contact. Her hips arched off the bed and he grinned against her skin. He loved her eager response to his touch. Every little noise she made drove him a little crazier. He stepped up his attentions and she climaxed once and then again a few seconds later. 

CJ grinned at him lazily as she picked herself up off the bed. Rolling him over, she climbed on top of him. Leaning down to kiss his chest, she sat back up and took him into her completely. He groaned at the sensation and held her hips. Relinquishing control in the bedroom was new for him, but he was more than willing to try anything involving this woman. As she rocked her hips, he felt his control melting away. Arching her back, she took him over the edge with her. 

Gasping for air, they both laid on their backs. Leo turned his head to look at her. "Breakfast?" 

"Yeah." 

********** 

Leo sat in his boxers and a t-shirt reading the New York Times while he waited for CJ to get ready. As much as he hated to admit it, he was getting too old to stay up all night making love to a beautiful woman. His entire body was sore, but it was a small price to pay. He had known the moment he met her that she was an amazing woman. Last night simply confirmed his suspicions about her stamina. He looked up from his paper when she walked out of the bathroom wearing jeans and a button up shirt. She stopped mid-stride when she saw him. 

"Leo?" 

"Yeah." 

"Why aren't you dressed?" 

"Let's see... I got dressed yesterday and then you told me to change," he explained sarcastically. "So I thought I'd wait for you to approve my wardrobe choice today." 

"Touché." 

"I figured jeans and a t-shirt with my suit coat." 

"I approve." She smiled as he got up to get dressed. "I'm calling down for breakfast. What do you want?" 

"I'll have whatever you're having." 

"Two egg white omelets with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and baby spinach with a pot of coffee." She picked up the phone and placed the order. "It'll be here in fifteen minutes." 

Leo returned to the room fully dressed. "I've been meaning to ask you, how did you know my pant size?" 

She laughed. "After my mother died, I dressed my dad and brothers for almost ten years. Until my brother Aidan came out and decided he could do a better job shopping for all of us than I did." 

"Your brother's gay?" Leo had no idea. 

"Yeah. Aidan, the one that lives in Napa." 

"So your father is a widower. Your oldest brother is a Navy Commander and your other brother is gay. Family gatherings must be lots of fun." 

"Oh, yeah. Except my dad has remarried three times. My current step-mother was my junior year English teacher." 

"Wow." 

She laughed again. "Just wait until you come to dinner with all of us. Graham and Jill's was completely civilized on Thursday night. Add Aidan, Matt, Daddy, Molly and you get the Moscow circus." 

Leo felt encouraged at the prospect of having more family dinners with the Creggs. "Sounds like it." 

"I've been thinking..." she paused when there was a knock on the door. 

Leo walked to the door, opened it, and the waiter came in. Leo thanked and tipped the kid and locked the door behind him. "You were thinking..." 

"Do you think I place too much influence on my wardrobe?" 

"What?" he asked cautiously. CJ usually didn't lay traps like this, but there was a first time for everything. 

"Do you think..." 

"I heard you. What the hell, CJ?" 

"You gave me your card to go shopping yesterday and today you're offering to take me shopping yourself. Do you think I worry too much about my appearance?" 

He sat down on the chaise and pulled CJ down with him. "Oh God, CJ, no. I wanted to do something nice for you. Don't get too used to me going shopping with you." He sighed and clasped her hand. "You and I have extremely stressful and crazy jobs. Our boss is away for an unprecedented length of time. The majority of the country is at home or on vacation. I wanted us to try and be normal people for 48 hours." He grinned. "Hell, I'm wearing blue jeans. Some progress has been made." 

She nodded and walked over to the table. "Come and eat. I'm sorry I assumed your intentions without talking to you. You're right. It is nice to be normal people. Normal people staying in a $750 a night hotel and shopping at Prada and Giorgio Armani. Okay, so we'll never be normal again. But at least we're not in the White House or in DC this weekend. Thank you." 

Leo shrugged. "No problem." Taking a sip of his coffee, he continued. "So shopping on Madison Avenue?" 

She nodded. "With the election craziness, I haven't had a chance to see the new fall lines." 

He just grinned at her enthusiasm. 

********** 

Hand in hand, they walked through Central Park. "We're taking a big risk, you know," CJ mentioned casually. 

"A risk?" he asked, absentmindedly stroking her knuckles with his thumb as he'd grown accustom to doing over the course of four days. 

"What if someone sees us?" 

"Good question. What if someone sees us?" 

"Leo!" 

"If someone sees us, we deal with it. Neither of our names was on the flight manifest or the hotel registration. I've paid in cash everywhere and as long as you don't spend more than $5,000 today, I will continue to. We've left no trail." 

"You have $5,000 in cash on you right now?!" she whispered as quietly and urgently as she could. 

He shrugged. "Yeah. Listen, if someone actually recognizes us, we say we're advance men for the First Lady." 

She snorted, "The President's COS and Press Secretary advancing for the First Lady. The press is going to believe that." She held up their hands. "And holding hands none the less." 

He stopped in the middle of Central Park. "Are you ashamed to be seen with me?" 

CJ's horror played across her face. "Leo, no. You are absolutely the best man I've ever been involved with. You are a brilliant, principled, sexy man. You'd put yourself on the line in a second before letting anyone take a swing at one of us. Hell, I've seen you do it. You work hard to make life better for the people in this country. You're a role model for every Democrat, every young politician period. You're good at what you do and you use your talent to affect positive change." She paused to take a breath. "Not to mention the fact that you seem to care enough about me to plan a special weekend in the two and a half minutes we have off. I doubt you whisk every woman you see off to New York to seduce her. I just don't want to cause trouble for the President, or for you." 

Astonished by her response, he paused before clearing his throat. "Well, I can assure you that I've never whisked anyone anywhere for a romantic weekend. I do care about you, that's what I've been trying to express to you. I think you may be exaggerating about the role model part. A drug addict alcoholic is hardly a life worth looking up to. But you let me take care of me and the President. We were just re-elected with a mandate and won't be running for anything else. As a side note, I think you might have a future as a Congresswoman, but Bartlet and McGarry are done. People are not gonna care that you and I are in a relationship. If they do, screw 'em. I'm too old for this crap." 

CJ didn't know what to say. All that came out was, "You're not done with professional politics." 

"Not for another four years. Do you really want to be involved with a crazy workaholic?" 

She grinned. "I already am. Trust me, I already am. It's not like I spend a ton of time at home. I have more clothes at my office than I do at home." 

He returned her smile. "Let's fix that." 

********** 

Three hours later, Leo was exhausted. He could make 24 hour cross country trips with the President of the United States, go blow for blow with House Republicans, corral over a thousand people who work for him at the White House, and campaign to re-elect the leader of the free world in the middle of a health crisis. But three hours of shoes, suits, gowns, shoes, bags, sweaters, shoes, skirts, jackets and shoes left him completely worn out. CJ only bought one new suit, two pairs of shoes, and a sweater, but she tried on almost everything in her size at five different stores on Madison Avenue. As tired as Leo was, CJ was equally energized. Leo was amazed by her. Every store they visited, the younger she looked. Every dime he spent was worth how much fun she was having. She didn't get to have enough fun, he decided, and when he got an opportunity to make sure she did, he would. 

Making a slight detour on the way back to the hotel, CJ and Leo stopped at a deli to pick up sandwiches for lunch. They passed Tiffany's on Fifth Avenue and CJ stopped to ogle the jewelry in the window. 

"That diamond drop pendant is gorgeous!" CJ exclaimed. 

"It would look good on you. But everything looks good on you. Hell, nothing on you looks good. I am eager to see you in nothing but that pendant." 

"Swear to God, Leo, you better not spend $4,000 on me." 

He grinned. "Why not?" 

"Leo!" 

He held his hands up. "Calm down. I'm not gonna buy you anything else today." He took her elbow and moved them to the next display. 

"Oh my God," CJ gasped. "That has to be the most stunning diamond ring I've ever seen." She pointed to the window. 

"The three stone emerald cut with the platinum setting?" He asked. 

"Yeah. That is, like, my dream ring." CJ blushed. "Sorry. I probably shouldn't tell you that since we just started dating." 

He smiled to himself. "Dating? Is that what this is called?" 

"Well, we've been coworkers and friends for over five years, you're my boss, you've spent over five thousand dollars on me over the past two days and we had the most mind blowing sex of my life last night and this morning. So, no, I'm not sure that this is typically considered dating. I don't know what the hell it is though." 

"Why don't we just say we're in a relationship and leave it at that? We had a relationship three months ago, and while it was a different one than what we have now, it's still a relationship. We're adults. We don't have to define it for anyone." 

"That sounds good." 

They walked back to the hotel in silence. 

********** 

Saturday afternoon, Leo talked CJ into going to the spa. He gave her an extra hundred dollars to make sure she could get in without an appointment. CJ was curious if he spent this much money on a regular basis, how he had any money left. She remembered just before he and Jenny split, he ordered dinner, a musician and a very expensive pearl necklace. Other than that particular instance and his hand tailored suits, she couldn't recall him spending large amounts of money. She understood that this weekend was a blip on the radar. After the inauguration, things would get crazy again. Sam's campaign would take some time and Toby trying to run the Communications Department by himself would mean more work for CJ. For now, she would enjoy her trip to the spa. 

While CJ was being pampered by well-toned young men, Leo put his suit on and caught a cab back to Tiffany & Co. When he walked into the store, a sales girl approached him. "Good afternoon, sir, how may we help you?" 

He pointed at the ring in the window. "Tell me about that one." 

The girl smiled. "Good choice, sir. That ring is three and a half carats with a platinum setting. Three stones, emerald cut. The center stone is two carats and each of the flanking stones are three quarter carat. Each stone is colorless and flawless." 

Leo nodded. "I'll take it. And the diamond drop pendant in the window. Does it have matching earrings?" 

"Yes, it does." She pulled them both out of the window. "Your lady friend must be very special." 

"You have no idea." 

Twenty minutes later, he hailed a cab to go back to the hotel. Now he just had to figure how to get $30,000 worth of jewelry back to DC without CJ or some baggage claim guy finding it. 

********** 

Once he got back to the hotel room, Leo buried his purchases underneath all his clothes in his suitcase. He sat down with the Times Crossword and the next thing he was aware of was CJ coming in the door. 

"Hey," he stood up and kissed her. "How was your thing?" 

She smiled. "Great. Between the sex, the shopping and the spa, I am a totally new woman." 

"I hope not. I kinda liked you the way you were." 

********** 

Over breakfast Sunday, she read the Washington Post and he read the Times. "It's nice to see the world still rotating on it's axis since we haven't been in the office for four days," she remarked. "I guess they don't really need us to fill page one." 

Leo nodded. "News over the holidays can be slow. Especially since the President is in Manchester." 

"This has been a remarkable weekend, Leo. I don't know how to thank you." 

"There's really no need. I got to spend four days with a beautiful woman and no White House. I doubt I get another four consecutive days off in the next four years." 

"When do we need to leave for the airport?" 

He glanced at his watch. "Half an hour. Do you have anything else you want to do?" 

"In fact, I do." She reached across the table and took the paper out of his hands. Sliding out of her chair, she stripped off her blouse and tossed it at his head. "Take off your pants," she ordered. 

"Oh God, CJ, are you trying to kill me?" He toed out of his shoes and unbuttoned his pants, powerlessly following her to the bed. In this moment, he realized he would do anything, go anywhere, she asked. All she had to do was say his name or smile at him a certain way and he was gone. 

"Not really, but what a way to go." She grinned. She unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the floor, revealing a bright red thong. Leo's semi-hard cock jumped to attention. CJ eyed him approvingly and licked her lips. 

"I want to fuck you, baby," he said as he climbed into bed with her. 

"That was kinda the point," she whispered. 

He removed the tiny piece of material from her hips and spread her legs. There was no time for foreplay, and really no need. She was wet as he slammed into her over and over. Her legs wrapped around his waist and pulled him in further, sending him over the edge, calling her name. She followed him quickly and it was all over nearly as soon as it began. 

His chest heaved in an effort to control his breathing as he rolled off of her and pulled her into his arms. "We're never going to get anything accomplished in the second term." 

********** 

They landed at National at 9:55 and CJ pulled out her cell while Leo called his driver. She hit number three on speed dial and spoke to the person on the other end. "Toby, it's me. Meet me at my place around noon. Josh is bringing the chocolate turkeys this year, so all you have to do is bring your cheerful self. See you in a couple of hours." She disconnected the call and met Leo at baggage claim. 

"You going back to the office today?" CJ inquired lightly. 

"Probably. You've got the thing with the guys this afternoon. There obviously hasn't been an emergency since my cell has been quiet, but there's always paperwork..." 

CJ placed a hand on his arm. "Leo." 

He glanced down at her hand and back up at her face. "Yeah?" 

"You wanna come to the thing with the boys?" 

"I don't wanna interfere. I'm the boss. We usually don't party together." 

"They'll get over it. Besides, Josh loves to spend time with you. You're the closest he's got to a dad." 

Leo shook his head. "Noah was way better than me. I just screwed up Josh's life by getting him involved with this administration. The man has PTSD, for Christ's sake." 

"And none of that was your fault, Leo. Really, your sense of responsibility for us is sweet, but we all made our own choices. We are adults, despite the fact we don't always act like it." She smiled. "So come hang out with us." 

"For a little while. But if Josh and Toby get into a drunken argument, I'm leaving." 

CJ laughed. "Then you will definitely only be there a little while." 

********** 

At ten till twelve, Leo sat down on CJ's couch and turned on CNN. On the way home from the airport, CJ had requested a short stop at the grocery. Leo stayed in the car and checked in at the office. She returned fifteen minutes later with three bags full of junk food. When they arrived at her apartment, she put away the food and sorted the stuff she had taken to New York. She gave Leo the full tour which included a twenty minute make out session in her bedroom. Then she banished him to the living room, insisting she had to get ready for her spin boys. Leo turned on CNN in retaliation. He was comforted by the headline in the news cycle reporting the decreased consumption of yams this year. Knowing his love of yams, the President would be disturbed by the knowledge, but Leo was quite satisfied knowing the world was not going to hell because he had stepped out of the office for a few days. 

He was startled from his thoughts by Josh's voice over the intercom. "Claudia Jean, we're here!" 

CJ walked out of the kitchen and buzzed them up. She unlocked the door and opened it an inch. 

Leo looked at her. "You said you only left it open for me." 

She simply raised her eyebrows in response and sauntered back to the kitchen. 

Donna's voice could be heard down the hall. "Are you sure it's all right that I'm here?" 

"For the last time, Donna, this isn't a senior staff meeting, although you've sat in on a few of those. We're just blowing off some steam," Josh concluded as he walked in the door to CJ's apartment. He spotted Leo in the center of the room. "Or maybe it is... Hey, Leo. I didn't expect you to be here." 

"Did I need to RSVP with you, Josh?" Leo asked gruffly. "Hey, Donna." 

Donna peeked around Josh. "Hey, Leo. Where's CJ?" 

CJ emerged from the kitchen. "Right here. Glad you could come, Donna." 

Finally recovered from finding the Chief of Staff in CJ's living room, Josh responded to Leo's question. "No, of course not. You just don't usually join us on our ventures outside the office." 

"Well, I am this time," Leo said with a tone that indicated there would be no more discussion about it. 

CJ turned to Josh. "How's your mom?" 

"Good, she's good. Thanks." Josh smiled. "I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to celebrating Thanksgiving in eighty degree weather, though." 

"What about you, Donna?" CJ asked. "What did you do for Thanksgiving?" 

"Not much," Donna answered. "Margaret, Carol, Bonnie, Ginger, some of the other assistants and I had a potluck. Most of us didn't have the time or money to go home. It was nice. Thanks for asking." She smiled at CJ. 

Leo made a mental note to make sure Margaret got wherever she wanted to go for Christmas. 

"Well," CJ motioned to the living room. "Make yourselves comfortable. Toby should be here any minute. I've got some junk cooking in the kitchen and the Chinese should be here around 12:30." She walked back to the kitchen, hoping Josh wouldn't ask Leo too many questions. Yeah, right. 

In the living room, Josh and Donna sat on the couch and Leo sat in the chair farthest from the door. 

Donna broke the ice. "Did you have a good weekend, Leo?" 

"Yes, I did, Donna. Thank you. The West Wing has been virtually empty for four days and the world kept on spinning." 

She smiled and nodded. "I think it's the longest amount of time neither Josh nor I have been in the office in the four years we've been there." 

Leo nodded. "Our jobs are not exactly conducive to enjoying personal time." 

Josh snorted. "So that explains why I can't get a date." 

"No, your personality explains why you can't get a date," Donna said under her breath. 

CJ walked back into the room and dropped into the chair opposite Leo's. "I hadn't seen my niece in over six months." 

"How is Hogan?" Josh asked. 

CJ's face lit up with pride. "She was accepted to UC-Berkeley, Georgetown, Brown, Northwestern and Wake Forest. I'm gonna take a few days after the campaign stop in Orange County to take her to see Berkeley, if I can talk the President into letting her come with us." 

Josh laughed. "The President would let you bring your cat on Air Force One, if you asked him. Hogan will definitely be with us on that trip." 

"I don't have a cat, Josh." 

"But if you did. He would." 

Josh, Donna and Leo looked toward the door when the lock turned unexpectedly. CJ waved them off. "Toby has a key." 

The man in question poked his head in the door and took his keys out of the lock, closing the door behind him. "I'm here, I'm here." 

"We see that, Tobus," CJ said dryly. 

"Hey Toby," Donna greeted. 

Toby nodded. "Donna, Josh." He glanced at Leo. "Umm... hey Leo." 

"Good to see you, too, Toby. I'm crashing your party." 

"So I see." Toby took off his coat and put some beer on the dining room table. "When's the food coming? I need to get back to the office." 

"Toby, Toby, Toby," Josh admonished. "You're missing the point of this little gathering. CJ has graciously invited us to her humble abode so we can relax and have a little fun. You don't look relaxed." 

Toby stared at him. "How much has he had to drink, today, Donna?" 

"Hey!" Josh protested. 

Donna shrugged. "I've only been with him for an hour. He called me when he couldn't locate the chocolate turkeys at the store." 

"He couldn't find his way out of a paper bag," CJ offered. 

"Hello," Josh waved. "I'm right here." 

Donna patted his knee in a pacifying manner. 

"In my own defense, since no one else wants to come to my aid, I have had nothing to drink. I plan on changing that soon." He looked at Toby, who was now sitting on the arm of CJ's chair. "I'm high on life, my friend. We've got eighteen hours left of this long weekend and you are going to have fun if it kills you." 

Toby acquiesced. "It could. When's the food coming?" 

As the four staffers continued talking among themselves, Leo was feeling increasingly uneasy. What was he thinking agreeing to be here? Josh and Toby seemed uncomfortable with his presence. Hell, he was uncomfortable with Toby practically sitting in CJ's lap. He didn't want to go caveman on her, but she was his now. It took all the restraint he could muster not to walk across the room, pull her out of the chair and away from Toby and sit her back down in his lap. She wouldn't appreciate that very much. She probably wouldn't like him even thinking about it. But as Toby put his arm around CJ's shoulders and she did that giggle, he involuntarily stood up. 

"Leo?" Josh asked. 

"Uh," Leo stammered. "I'm gonna get a glass of water. Anybody else want something?" 

Donna requested a soda and Josh and Toby simultaneously said, "Beer." 

CJ stood as well and Toby took her seat. "I'll get the glasses for you." 

Leo nodded and followed her into the kitchen. 

CJ put her hand on his arm. "Are you all right?" she whispered. 

He nodded. "I'm just a little unnerved that Toby can't seem to keep his hands off you." 

Her lips briefly met his. "Well, I can't keep my hands off you. So don't worry about Toby." 

He filled the glasses as she got them from the cabinet. 

"CJ!" Toby yelled from the living room. "The food's here." 

CJ picked up a couple of beers and a soda. "Just relax and talk to them. Everyone in that room likes you, Leo. Act like it." 

"I just don't socialize well," he grumbled. 

"Nonsense, you're an excellent conversationalist. You'd just rather be alone with me, naked in bed." 

He grinned. "Damn straight." 

She rolled her eyes. "Get out there." 

"Yes, ma'am." He picked up his glass of water and Donna's soda, along with the stack of plates. 

Josh and Donna sat on one side of the table and Toby sat on the other. CJ and Leo each took an end of the table and handed out drinks and plates. Chopsticks had been delivered with the Chinese. 

"So you guys have been doing this every year since the campaign and this is the first year Josh bothered to invite me?" Donna asked. 

"Yeah," CJ replied. "And I have mentioned on more than one occasion that you should be here. In addition to helping me wrangle these guys, Toby wouldn't have to drag Josh home at the end of the night." 

"The first year we actually ate straight from the cartons and sat on milk crates in the living room." Josh added. "You've moved up in the world, CJ. You have plates now." 

Toby laughed. "Remember the year Sam sang the thing?" 

CJ and Josh laughed, too. "But now we've got two new inductees to the club," CJ said. 

"I'm not sure how I feel about this..." Leo looked at Donna. 

"They're mostly harmless," Donna assured him. 

"What should the rite of passage be?" Josh pondered aloud. 

"A round of spin the bottle?" Toby suggested. 

"We'll play seven minutes in heaven," CJ added. 

"Truth or dare." Josh announced. "We'll play truth or dare. Agreed?" 

CJ and Toby nodded. 

Leo sighed. "What is this, a hazing?" 

"You come to the party, you gotta play along." Toby said. 

"Okay." Leo caved. "Who goes first?" 

Josh smiled. "You. Truth or dare, Leo?" 

"Oh, God," Leo said. "Truth." 

"Have you ever fallen asleep while the President was talking?" Donna asked. 

"Traitor," Leo said under his breath. "No, I've never fallen asleep while the President was talking." He turned to Josh. "Truth or dare?" 

"Truth." 

"Name a powerful man in Washington that you would sleep with." 

"Damn Leo," Toby muttered. "Go for the jugular." 

"You." Josh replied with no qualms. "Everyone wants to sleep with Leo McGarry." 

Leo looked at Donna and she nodded. He glanced at CJ and she just smiled. 

"Toby?" he asked. 

"If I were forced, a la deserted island scenario, probably. Maybe." 

They all laughed. 

"Truth or dare, Donna?" Toby asked. 

"Um, truth?" 

"Did you really harbor a secret crush on Sam or was he just being Sam?" 

"Oh my God, he told you that. I was drunk when I told him that." 

"You like Sam?" Josh asked. 

"He's cute." CJ and Donna said in unison. 

"And liked would be a better description. It was before I got to know him. I love him like a brother now." 

"Sort of how she liked you." CJ said to Josh. 

Toby grinned but Josh looked a bit confused. 

"Truth or dare, Toby?" CJ asked. 

"Dare." 

"Ooh, he always does that," Josh said. 

"Call Dominos and have 30 pizzas delivered to the Speaker of the House. Give then the phone number to the booth on 16th and Potomac. It's on my fridge." 

"Is this the part when I ask why you have a phone booth number?" Leo asked. 

"The less you know the better," CJ replied. 

"I'm doing it." Toby said defiantly as he grabbed the cordless from Donna's hands. They could hardly stop their giggling as he called and spoke with a fake accent that seemed to be a combination of Turkish and Lithuanian. CJ almost fell over in her chair as he hung up the phone and took a bow. 

"The sad part is he will most likely eat them," Leo said with a smirk. 

"If that ever gets back to you, there will be consequences," Josh said. 

"Find me on 16th and Potomac for some pizzas. Truth or dare, CJ?" 

"Truth." 

"Did you sleep with Danny Concannon?" 

"Toby!" 

"Oh Toby, you are a truth or dare God." 

He and Josh high-fived as Donna gave CJ a sympathetic stare. Leo sipped his water and remained quiet. It was a question he was eager to know the answer to. 

"Cat got your tongue, Claudia Jean?" Josh asked. 

He and Toby snickered like frat boys and CJ leaned to pinch the Communications Director. He recoiled and attempted to bite her hand. 

"No. I never slept with Danny." 

"Damn, she can lie with a straight face," Josh replied. 

"I didn't. We're talking like actual coitus, right?" 

"Yes," Toby said. 

"Then no." 

"There was semi-coitus?" Donna asked. 

"No comment." She turned to her new lover, who looked slightly blue in the face. "Truth or dare?" 

"Truth." 

"Tell us something you have never told a soul." 

Leo grinned slightly. "There's a strong possibility I'm in love." 

CJ could barely hide her gasp. 

"You owe me fifty dollars," Donna said, slapping Josh's arm. 

"No way, stop slapping me. He didn't say it was Jordan Kendall. I don't give up money without names. It's not Jordan Kendall, is it?" 

"You said one thing... I think I'm done." 

"You can't lay down comments like that and then say that's all," Toby said. "This is a bonding experience; bond with us." 

"Will it ever leave this room?" he asked. 

Even Toby found himself leaning forward in his chair as they all agreed. He stole a glance at CJ; she looked a bit ill. "CJ, are you alright?" 

"Huh? Oh, I think maybe the Kung Pao chicken did not agree with me." 

"Dibs on the bathroom!" Josh jumped up, lost his footing, tripped over the chair and landed on his face. The whole room erupted in laughter. "No, no, don't help me. I think I'm okay. Was this tooth loose when I got here?" 

Toby just stepped over him and went to the bathroom. 

"I'm not telling you guys who it is. Some thing in my life has to be mine," Leo said. 

"I agree," Donna said. "Just tell me enough to get my money from Josh." She had already stood and helped him from the floor. His mouth was open and she was examining his teeth. "They're fine." 

"Are you sure?" Josh whined. 

"Yes," she replied in an exasperated tone. 

"You okay, CJ?" Leo asked. 

"Yeah. You know Leo, when you tease there is hell to pay." 

"Yeah?" 

"Mmm hmm. Usually when you least expect it." 

Leo just smiled, winking at her. 

"I'm scared now, Claudia Jean," he whispered. 

"I really have to go back to the White House," Toby said, coming out of the bathroom. "I need to see if the kid burned the place down." 

"If they still allow Josh in there," Donna replied. "I think Will Bailey will be okay." 

"Did you spray?" Josh asked as he walked down the hall. 

"Go to hell." 

"There are matches in the medicine cabinet. And don't rummage around in my stuff, Joshua!" 

Toby smirked. "Remember the year he asked if he could take a birth control pill for his headache?" 

Leo and Donna laughed as CJ shook her head. "Yeah, then Sam asked if he could have one too. Memories." 

********** 

An hour later, Josh and Donna walked out the door to CJ's apartment. Toby had left earlier, so CJ and Leo were alone in the living room. As an excuse to stay later than everyone else, Leo claimed his driver was delayed across town. CJ shut the door behind Josh and Donna and turned to look at her lover. 

"A powerful man in Washington you would sleep with?" CJ repeated with one eyebrow raised. 

Leo just grinned and held his arms open. "Come here." 

CJ sauntered toward him and lowered her body into his embrace. They sat quietly on the couch for a few moments, enjoying the silence and the closeness. 

"Josh had it coming. Truth or dare? You guys act as though you're in grade school, not running a country." 

CJ snorted. "What are you talking about? We act this way because we're running the country. You can't expect us to be serious all the time." 

Leo simply nodded in reply. 

********** 

Monday morning at the White House was chaotic. Between skimming the wires and the morning gaggle, CJ hadn't seen Leo since he left her apartment the evening before. CJ sipped her coffee as Carol poked her head in the office. 

"You have a nice weekend?" the assistant inquired. 

CJ's lips turned up almost imperceptibly. "I did. What about you? Did you get a chance to see the guy from Senator Hutchins' office?" 

"I called, but he was out of town." Carol frowned. "Mark wants a comment on Congressman Browning's attachment to the HUD budget." 

"Tell him he can wait for the ten o'clock briefing. Anything else?" 

"Staff in five." Carol shut the door after walking through it. 

Less than ten seconds later, Toby stormed in. "Did you see Browning's attachment? Twenty-five million for improvement of a local country club? What is he thinking?!" 

CJ stood, preparing to walk with him to staff. "That he can hold up a bill that helps working class people obtain reasonable housing until this session ends and limit the number of poor people buying houses around his golf course." 

"That is, in fact, exactly what he's thinking." Toby smirked as they walked to Leo's office. 

They met Josh in Margaret's area. 

"Did you see the thing from Browning?" Josh asked. 

CJ nodded. 

Margaret walked out of Leo's office and motioned them in. Josh sat in one of the chairs across from Leo's desk, Toby leaned against the table and CJ sat on the couch. 

"Well, the Browning attachment is obviously going to be a thing today. What else?" Leo glanced around the room, eyes settling on CJ. He could not tear his eyes away from her knee length skirt or stand up from behind his desk. She caught his gaze and her desire was palpable. She had missed his presence in her bed last night and though she knew it was thoroughly unprofessional, she could only focus on the way his fingers caressed her skin that first night in New York and every other time they had made love came flooding back to her. She felt her face flushing and willed her body to calm down. 

Leo noticed her discomfort and shared it. Toby was halfway through a tirade about wealthy men from the Midwest and Leo didn't give a damn. All he wanted was fifteen minutes alone with CJ. He was positive if he could just feel his body pressed against hers on top of his desk that he would be able to focus on work the rest of the day. Then again, that's what he used to think about his first glass of scotch every day. Just one sip from the first glass. Then it was two, and five, and then he emptied the entire bottle. CJ was his newest addiction. And if this is what it was to be addicted to a woman, he didn't ever want to be cured. 

"...So what do you think, Leo?" Toby finished. 

Damn, what had he just said? "Yeah," Leo faked. "That sounds about right." He turned his attention to the papers on his desk. "The President is scheduled to meet with the economic advisors at nine and I think I can schedule five minutes for you to talk to him before that. Josh, Toby, get this fixed. That's all." 

Everyone started filing out of his office. 

"CJ, stick around a minute." 

Toby shot a glance at CJ. She shrugged at him and he went on his way. When Toby was out the door, CJ counted to five and then closed and locked the door to the hallway. Leo got up and closed the door to Margaret's area and they met in the middle on the way to the door to the Oval. No words were exchanged as CJ locked the door. As soon as she turned around, Leo pushed her up against the door and ravished her mouth. His hands inched their way down to the hem of her skirt and she pulled away. 

"Leo..." 

"I missed you so much last night, baby. I jerked off with your panties from New York." 

His whispered confession made her stomach flip and her knees weak. "We have to be quiet." 

He nodded silently and led her across the room, where he lifted her up onto his desk and pushed up her skirt. Leo groaned slightly at the sight of her thong. She pulled him to her and unzipped his pants. 

He entered her swiftly and she bit back a gasp. This had to be the craziest thing CJ had ever done. Illicit sex mere feet from the Oval Office was a dangerous proposition, but as Leo started thrusting in and out, she lost all ability to think rationally. 

Kissing him helped quiet his grunts of pleasure, but did little to stifle his moan when they climaxed together. He waited a moment before pulling out and rearranging his clothing. 

"Are you free for dinner tonight?" he asked as she stood up. 

"Isn't that the kind of question you usually ask the girl before something like this?" she smirked as she motioned to the chaos on the surface of his desk. 

"CJ..." 

"Calm down, Leopold. Yes, I'm free for dinner. Your place or mine?" 

"Yours. Eight o'clock?" 

She nodded. "Have a good day." She kissed him lightly and was out the door. 

He smiled as he watched her walk away. His day was off to a pretty terrific start. 


End file.
